Special to The Swellesley Report courtesy of the Wellesley High School Bradford and Parents of Performing Students (POPS). This is one in a series of POPS senior profiles we’ll be publishing.

Blaring horns and saxophones complement the abundance of wind instruments that play a rendition of “Seven Nation Army” during Wellesley High School’s home football games as part of the high school Pep Band’s role in generating enthusiasm within the crowd. This piece, which has become part of the routine repertoire, was arranged by Timothy Bonis, a member of Wellesley High School’s Class of 2022. 

“A few years ago, we thought we could use a new song for the Pep Band for football games, and it ended up sticking. Hopefully, long after I’m gone, this will still be a legacy playing at every football game,” said Bonis. 

Bonis, an exemplary young musician, is an integral part of the high school’s Wind Ensemble and acts as a positive role model for other aspiring students. 

Bonis’s musical career started eight years ago when he fell in love with the flute. After listening to “The Aviary” from Carnival des Animaux when he was seven, the flute solo especially stood out to him. Two years ago, he decided to pursue the piccolo and now plays both instruments. Influenced by his large musical background, Bonis was destined to become a multi-instrumentalist. 

“I was always part of a very musical family. My grandfather was the president of the Boston Opera Company and my grandfather sat on the board of the Civic Symphony of Boston. It was almost a foregone conclusion that I would play an instrument later on,” said Bonis. 

Through his family’s musical ties, he met his current out-of-school instructor, Ellen Bender. Bender’s husband wrote an opera that premiered at the Boston Opera Company at the time Bonis’s grandfather was president. 

In addition to his independent musical practice, Bonis is heavily involved with Wellesley school music programs. In middle school, Bonis joined the school’s band and continued to practice under Director Henry Platt. Bonis not only looked up to his teacher but also turned to famous musicians Emmanuel Pahud and Marcel Moyse for inspiration. Bonis often listened to their recordings, attempting to emulate their skill and music. 

Now at the high school, Bonis is first chair in flute and second chair in piccolo. While the high school used to put on a musical performance every month or two, performances have stopped since the start of the pandemic. Bonis misses the satisfactory feeling of performing for people and recalls his old concerts. 

“At a recital when I performed ‘Méditation’ from the opera Thaïs by Jules Massenet, I played it with poise and technique that my teacher and family didn’t expect, which was one of my proudest moments,” said Bonis. 

It hasn’t always been a perfect road for Bonis; all musicians have their moments. Bonis emphasizes that a part of learning and growing is remembering the mistakes made along the way. 

“In seventh grade I had a disaster concert,” said Bonis, “I was performing the ‘Sicilienne’ by Gabriel Fauré, and I completely ruined it. I was a pretty new player at the time and not a really good one either. I chose a piece that was reasonably hard and above my level. It opened very gently and it was a soft piece. I ended up cracking every note and even after trying to restart, it didn’t work. I remember putting my flute down and running off stage.” 

Bonis wants younger students to understand that moments like these do not define a player, but rather make them stronger.

“Mistakes are a part of learning to perform. No matter how much you practice, you may never know how to perform in front of a crowd. When you have a moment like that, it teaches you a lot about how to pick yourself up after a fall.”  

Bonis’s skill comes from his rigorous practice schedule. Throughout high school, he practiced for about 45 minutes to an hour every day. Even during the fall of his hectic senior year, Bonis continued to pay attention to his instrument. Believing individual practice is essential to becoming a successful player, he fondly looks upon the communal aspect of music. 

“It can be a lot of pleasure to play on one’s own,” said Bonis, “but when you can get into a section and play with people who also understand your instrument, you can talk about the performances and the pieces and the repertoire. The social experience from the school’s ensemble is something I look forward to.”

Furthermore, Bonis credits Steven Scott, conductor of the Wind Ensemble, with helping him learn and improve as a musician. Scott reciprocated this mutual admiration, and gushed over Bonis’s presence in the ensemble, with his unique combinations of fun and focus greatly uplifting his peers. 

“Tim’s strong musicianship coupled with his fun and focused demeanor make him a real asset to the ensemble,” said Scott. “Tim…[leads] by strong example. He is always working on his flute parts outside of class and bringing excellent preparation to our work together,” said Scott. 

Peers around Bonis also remember his positive attitude and remarkable hard work in Wind Ensemble. Senior Eleni Livingston who has been friends with Bonis for since their time at Fiske Elementary School, recalls Bonis’s attentive and eager presence in class.

“Tim is one of the most thoughtful people I know,” said Livingston. “He is always willing to help his section mates. He has an incredible musical ear and is able to identify things that need improvement very quickly. His social nature always brings the class community together and encourages younger students to reach out of their comfort zones in both music and academics.” 

Bonis also has diverse accomplishments and interests beyond music. As an officer of the high school’s National Honor Society, he organized a pie sale fundraiser during Thanksgiving, combining his passion for baking with contributing to the greater community. 

“I am a very keen baker. I’m especially interested in a type of Hungarian baking,” said Bonis, whose grandfather emigrated from Hungary. 

Bonis has many plans looking forward both in terms of his post-high school academic life and his growing musical interest. 

“I hope to continue playing in college even if it’s for individual enjoyment. Balancing academics and music is something I am familiar with. Music has been such a fundamental part of my life, and I can’t imagine a future without it,” said Bonis. 

Article written by WHS Bradford staff: Iris Xia ‘22 and William Liu ‘22.

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Special to The Swellesley Report courtesy of the Wellesley High School Bradford and Parents of Performing Students (POPS). This is one in a series of Wellesley POPS senior profiles we’ll be publishing.

Despite Jae Min Ahn’s peers knowing him for his impressive Rubik’s cube solves and funny jokes, what has developed to be his passion over the past decade is the violin, an instrument which his mentors and fellow musicians have seen him become increasingly dedicated to, as he has perfected his craft.

After picking up the violin through school-sponsored public lessons at his elementary school in second grade, Jae Min allowed this to become his main passion.

“As a kid, it was one of my first commitments as a hobby. A lot of kids have sports, and the thing for me was the violin, and I just stuck with it,” said Jae Min.

Dr. Sergey Khanukaev, who has mentored Jae Min since sixth grade, observed his talent and drive from an early age.

“Already in middle school, he was extraordinary among all the students. He was very advanced and serious,” said Khanukaev.

Jae Min’s hard work paid off in eighth grade, when he performed at the Symphony Hall in Boston, as part of an auditioned youth orchestra, which was more exclusive than what he typically performed in at the high school.

“It was overwhelming, I was just a little kid, and Symphony Hall is very big for a little kid, it makes you feel like a professional. It’s very different from small school auditoriums,” said Jae Min.

In the same year, he reached another big milestone: performing his first symphony, an elaborate musical composition for a full orchestra, in the same venue.

In high school, Jae Min started to set his sights on more opportunities outside of school to perform and simultaneously started to become more of a leader as he progressed through the high school.

Learning life lessons

Looking back at all the ups and downs of his musical career, Jae Min sees many life lessons that his extensive experience with the violin has given him.

“I have learned the benefits of hard work, practicing every day, and it has made me more goal-oriented,” said Jae Min. “Even though it can be a grueling process, when you perform [a piece], it doesn’t even have to be at Symphony Hall, when you have a good performance, you feel satisfied with yourself, as if you have accomplished something.”

Khanukaev has seen his experience in out-of-school orchestras improve his performance in his program. “Jae Min…participates in other orchestras outside of school, and [you can] immediately feel that he is experienced. He knows how to fulfill professional requests.”

“He was not always a leader,” said Khanukaev, “he was sitting second stand and then he moved to the first row and was getting experience from the concertmaster, and then when he became concertmaster, it was very natural for him.”

As Jae Min moved up through the ranks of the orchestra, he also realized that he needed to assume a certain level of responsibility, in order to be an effective leader. “When you are concertmaster, you have to act more dynamic,” said Jae Min. “You have to be more physically active, you have to move around.”

Jeremy Kim ’23 has played alongside Jae Min in his time at the high school, and as they have gotten to know each other better, Jae Min’s work ethic has started to have an impact on Kim. “I’ve known him for a long time, and he motivates me to get better…through his playing, I feel motivated.” Kim has known Jae Min both as a musician and a friend and has noticed the stark contrast in his behavior when assuming these different roles. “During school orchestra, he’s always joking around and tries to make the atmosphere better. But during the concert, he gets his serious face on… [He is] two-faced in a good way.”

When he gets serious, Kim notes that he has a unique skill set with the violin. “He has very good musicality…[but] I think the thing that mostly shines is how he takes a piece and shows that it’s his, he turns it into his own, and so he is able to appeal to the audience, in a way that a lot of people can’t.”

However, Jae Min’s high school experience as a musician has involved much less of an audience than he would have liked, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Things like the All-Nationals and All-Eastern, which were supposed to be live performances, were switched to Zoom, which was honestly pretty bland,” said Jae Min. “I understand that people have tried to make it entertaining, but it’s still pretty dull.”

However, this hasn’t deterred Jae Min, who is hopeful that, as the pandemic situation improves, there will be more opportunities to display his hard work in front of a live audience. “The most I have been able to get out of the pandemic music-wise is just practicing more. That’s really the main thing. Biding my time, building up my skills until things start to open up.”

Jae Min’s work rehearsing has started to pay off. He started having in-person concerts at the end of last year and has been able to demonstrate his skills in a more familiar and interesting environment. “[The pandemic] was a rough time, certainly uneventful, but it’s getting better,” said Jae Min.

While not performing, Jae Min has found many other ways to enjoy himself in his free time. He plays video games, fishes, hangs out with friends, and solves the Rubik’s Cube. He can typically solve a Rubik’s Cube in under fifteen seconds, and his record is around just six seconds.

But while his interest in the Rubik’s Cube has faded over the years, his passion for the violin continues to push him forward. Jae Min is a senior who will be attending Cornell University next year, but he doesn’t want this to stop him from pursuing this lifelong interest. “I don’t plan to quit violin in the near future. It is a valuable skill I have accumulated over the years, and I would like to maintain that,” Jae Min said. “I would like to join the college orchestra, and do pretty much the same thing I am doing now.”

Article by WHS Bradford staff: Adam Juma ’23 and Griffin Jordan ’24.

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